Statesboro began quietly in 1803 as the center of government for the bustling agricultural county of Bulloch. During the last two decades of the 19th century, enterprising outsiders fashioned the small town into a leading commercial and educational center in rural southeastern Georgia. Early in the 20th century Statesboro was one of the world's top markets for long staple Sea Island cotton; later its tobacco market became the most active and efficient in the state. In 1906 the growing city gained an Agricultural and Mechanical School that grew into Georgia Southern University, a comprehensive...